There has been demand for unifying authentication processes into a single authentication process, i.e. demand for employing single sign-on, in a system in which a multifunction apparatus works with a plurality of services and applications (hereinafter, referred to as “external application”), provided on a network.
Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique in which (i) authentication information that is entered into a digital multifunction apparatus and authentication information for an external application server with which the digital multifunction apparatus communicates are stored so that these are associated with each other and (ii), in a case where the external application server is used after authentication is completed on the digital multifunction apparatus, authentication is carried out by use of the authentication information for the external server, which has been associated with the authentication information entered into the digital multifunction apparatus.